WilliamLam.com

Quick Tip - Handy ovftool 4.0 advanced options

by // 3 Comments

I recently had a need to deploy an OVA using ovftool on a Windows desktop and I ran into the following error:

Error: Could not lookup host: root

Since the environment I was deploying to did not have DNS, the failed hostname lookup was expected. This was pretty annoying with previous releases of ovftool but it looks like with the latest 4.0 version, there is a new advanced option called --X:disableHostnameResolve that would allow you to disable this check. Using the new version of ovftool and the advanced option, I was able to bypass the check and deploy the OVA.

[Read more...]

Want to test drive Apple OSX 10.10 Yosemite? Try it on VMware Fusion & vSphere

by // 26 Comments

Earlier this week, Apple announced their next version of Mac OSX at their annual developer's conference called OSX 10.10 Yosemite. For those of you who are part of Apple's Development Program and would like to test drive the latest Developer Preview, you can quickly and safely do so by running it inside a Virtual Machine using either VMware Fusion or VMware vSphere.

Disclaimer: It is important to note that Mac OSX 10.10 is not officially supported by VMware because Apple has not officially GA'ed, however it will run fine for the most part.

UPDATE (07/26/14) - I was able to install the latest OSX Yosemite public beta using the same instructions listed below.

It is highly recommended that you perform an upgrade using the .app from an existing installation of Mac OSX to Yosemite for optimal performance. There are currently some known issues with a fresh installation which may cause some problems, this is currently being investigated by VMware Engineering.

Installing OSX Yosemite on Fusion:

For Fusion users, I recommend using the latest VMware Fusion 2014 Tech Preview and selecting OSX 10.9 as the guestOS. If you have any feedback on the Tech Preview of Fusion, be sure to leave a comment on the Fusion Community Forums. Here are a couple of screenshots going through the upgrade as well as a successful boot of Mac OSX 10.10.

mac-osx-10.10-yosemite-vmware-fusion-0
mac-osx-10.10-yosemite-vmware-fusion-1

Installing OSX Yosemite on vSphere:

For vSphere users, you will need to be running vSphere 5.5 and using Virtual Hardware 10 which provides support for Mac OSX 10.9 as a guestOS. If you need to perform a fresh installation of OSX, you can follow the detailed instructions here which requires a quick format of the underlying virtual disk before starting the installation. Below is a screenshot of Mac OSX 10.10 running on vSphere on top of my Apple Mac Mini.

mac-osx-10.10-yosemite-vmware-vsphere-1

Here are a couple of things I noticed about the current Beta of OSX 10.10:

  • Installing VMware Tools does not work and just seems to hang. If you need VMware Tools, make sure you install it before upgrading
  • After upgrading from OSX 10.9 to 10.10 running on VMware Fusion 6.0, it seems to hang after reboot
  • It feels a bit sluggish, potentially from being the first Beta drop

Even with some of these issues, I still think it is pretty cool that you can run a Beta version of OSX that was literally released a couple of days ago. I know VMware Engineering is already hard at work on figuring out the issues and optimizing OSX 10.10 to run just as smooth as past releases of Mac OSX. I am confident by the time Mac OSX Yosemite GA's, that it will be running flawlessly! I also would like to thank Regis Duchesne for sharing some tips on getting OSX 10.10 up and running.

Want a free VMware Fusion 6 Professional License?

by //

fusion-6-pro-license Here is an exclusive for my Twitter followers! Last week I had the chance to catch up with Simon Bennett, Product Manager for both VMware Fusion & VMware Workstation and just chat about some random topics. Simon was kind enough to offer me seven free VMware Fusion 6 Professional license keys, each valued at $129 USD. I personally already had a copy of VMware Fusion which I use all the time on my iMac whenever I need to quickly spin up Virtual Machines. I thought I would extend this generous gift from Simon onto my Twitter followers, since several of you mentioned you would like one after I tweeted about the gift.

I had thought about giving it to the first seven followers that responded and realized that would have been unfair to folks who were not watching their Twitter stream at that very moment (which nobody does, least I do not). So, if you want a super easy way to win a free VMware Fusion 6 Professional license key, take a look below an please CAREFULLY READ all directions.

How to Win:

Leave a short comment on this post on what this VMware Fusion license key would enable you to do, whether that is solving a particular problem or challenge.In addition, what is the one feature that you are most excited about for new users or what new feature would you like to see for existing VMware Fusion customers. Simple, right? I will randomly select seven winners from the list of comments in one weeks time, so make sure you leave your Twitter handle in the post else you will not be eligible to win. This is open to everyone, you do not need to reside in the US to win.

How to Qualify:

  • You must be following me on Twitter, I am at @lamw
  • Must not be a VMware employee, I will check 🙂
  • Include your Twitter handle in the comment, that is how I will contact the winners

Winners:

@wozik
@mstone333
@davidahewett
@dkguru
@hippotech
@romankallen
@mralexandr0